


In this moment, you are everything

by croissantbleu



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alcohol Mentions, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Party, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Reunion, Family meeting, Getting Together, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, this is my christmas fic that i'm posting early because i will be busy i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 15:46:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13057101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croissantbleu/pseuds/croissantbleu
Summary: Dan was just wasting time on the Internet when he stumbled upon a post that might mean a change of plans for the holidays, for the better.





	In this moment, you are everything

Dan wasn’t really sure why he thought this was a good idea. He was just scrolling through Tumblr, desperately trying to distract himself from the pile of homework he should be doing, when a post caught his eye. It was from a blog he’d been following for a while, and it was quite an odd post. The guy, Phil (Dan had to check his blog description to remember his name), was apparently looking for a fake partner to go to a family Christmas dinner with him because “while I don’t mind being single, it seems to be a big deal for everyone else and I’d just like to be able to enjoy the food without ten different persons asking me about it”, which had the merit of making Dan laugh. He could relate to that. 

The rest of the post was a couple of additional precisions about the whole thing, and Dan didn’t bother to read them all before getting up from the sofa and heading to the kitchen. All this dinner talk had made him hungry, and it was getting late.

He hadn’t expected to ever stumble upon that kind of post, he thought, that was typically the kind of thing that only happened in fiction - or that’s what he thought before. That was a thing real people did too, apparently. The world was funny sometimes. 

He didn’t think much of it, he just hoped Phil would find someone to answer to his post. That could probably be quite a fun experience actually, Dan has never really talked to him but he seemed like a nice and funny guy. At least it couldn’t be worse than the plans Dan had for the holidays. Or, it would be more accurate to say the  _ lack _ of plans. He had yet to decide if he was going to stay there by himself or suffer through a family reunion. He happily would’ve spent the holidays with friends, but they were all going back home for a couple of days, leaving him all alone. He sighed. The middle of November was getting close, he really should make his choice now, and not at the last minute like usual.

He put on a movie, still trying to forget about all the work he should be doing instead, and put all of this at the back of his mind. It was still too early for him to be talking about the festive season anyway, and he had other things to worry about right now.

Later that night, after he had finally completed most of the things he had to do and was lying in bed, looking at the ceiling, he thought about this again. It was way too late for this and he really should be asleep, but his mind kept going back to Phil’s post. Maybe it could be worth a shot? He didn’t have anything better planned, after all, and none of the other options he had were particularly appealing to him. At least it could make something to laugh about later, even if it did turn out to be the most awkward experience ever. And he really thought it was a funny thing to ask for on Tumblr. 

So he thought, fuck it, why not. He grabbed his phone from the bedside table and started the app, trying to ignore the screen displaying the time almost aggressively, as if to tell him that 3  am really was not the time for this. He quickly went on Phil’s blog and typed a short message to tell him that he had seen the post, and he might just be interested.

He didn’t wait for a response, simply putting his phone back down and turning around, hoping to get some sleep now.

*

The next morning, he was surprised to see he had gotten an answer from Phil. He hadn't really been expecting it, or at least not already. He was weirdly nervous about this, and he didn't really know why. He opened the message without waiting any more, and read it quickly. All it said was that Phil was surprised someone had actually answered because he was starting to think his idea was doomed to fail. He offered that they called or Skype each other to go over some details, as it would be easier this way instead of using Tumblr messages, that only worked when it wanted to. That last part made Dan smile and he sent back another text to say that he agreed and they could chat on Skype later, once he was done with buying groceries and other boring stuff. It didn't take long before he got an answer saying that was fine, and he got up with a groan. 

He really wasn't a morning person.

*

He was way too nervous about this, he thought as he sat down in front of his laptop. It was just a stupid idea, and there really was no reason to get stressed about it. It could probably be a lot of fun if he stopped overthinking everything. The Skype window popped up on the screen, telling him that AmazingPhil was calling. Dan couldn’t help but smile and shook his head before taking the call. Of course that was his username.

Phil's face took up most of the screen, still recognizable despite the poor quality. 

"Hey," Phil smiled. "Thanks for accepting to talk to me."

"I mean, I don't have anything better to do," Dan laughed a little. "And you're right, it's probably easier to talk like that rather than just by texting, if you ask me."

"Yeah, that's what I thought as well. So, still up for this?"

"Yeah, sure. That could be fun, and it sounds better than anything else I had planned for the holidays anyways. How do we do this?"

"I already have the train tickets, so you don't need to worry about that. We'd leave on the afternoon of the 23rd, if that's alright? And then we can leave on the 25th, during the afternoon again. Sounds good?"

"Yep, no problem," Dan nodded. "D'you know how many people will be there?"

"I'm not sure yet," Phil admitted, "but probably enough to be a little annoying. Sorry about that."

Dan laughed. "Don't worry, it honestly couldn't be worse than if I was going back home, trust me. Should we, like, agree on a story or...? Because this might be a surprise for you, but I've never done this before and I'm not sure what to do."

Phil smiled and shook his head. "It's the first time I'm desperate enough to ask that as well, you know, I don't have the slightest idea of what I'm doing either. I just thought that they'd all be annoying anyway and hopefully that would get them to leave me alone a bit, so it was worth a shot. I didn't expect someone to actually answer."

"I didn't expect to be the one answering either, to be fair. That just didn't seem like such a bad idea compared to my other options, so why not? It's not like I'd be missing much anyway. Okay, if you want me to remember some names, you should probably tell me now so I don't get confused and embarrass you too much," he added with a smile.

Phil laughed. "Honestly, I get confused all the time so it shouldn't be a problem. If someone that looks like my aunt comes to talk to you, you can just smile until she leaves and you'll be fine. That's what everyone does anyway."

Dan chuckled at that, and the best thing to do if they were asked how they had met (and Phil was sure multiple people would ask, because that's how his family was) was to stay somewhat close to the truth to avoid getting too tangled up in lies and raising suspicions. Dan had objected that they weren't exactly spies trying to infiltrate a high-security building with guards ready to get them if they had the slightest doubt, and Phil had laughed and told him to wait until he said the mission was nothing like a spy one, because it could very well turn that way before he even knew it. Dan had just laughed at that and gave up, agreeing on telling the same story. 

Surprisingly enough, this whole thing was a lot less awkward than what he had been afraid of, maybe it was just because of how odd this whole situation was, but he was beginning to think he had made the right choice.

**

They had exchanged phone numbers at some point, as it would be easier for them. Especially considering all the random questions one of them would inevitably send before the end of the day. It was a little weird, maybe, how quickly things had fallen into place and became a new routine. Dan would be deeply focused on a book he was reading when his phone buzzed suddenly, displaying a text from Phil that read “btw, you don’t have any food allergies, right?”, or sometimes he’d be the one to quickly type “hey, is there a dress code you’ve forgotten to tell me about? anything I shouldn’t wear so I don’t upset anyone?”, the answer being ‘no’ to both of these.

Quickly enough, the questions about the Christmas dinner became texts about random things that made them smile (Phil once said it was only a way to find a gift for Dan that he might not completely hate), and Dan’s boss may have had to ask him a few times to stop laughing at his phone before giving up and just asking him to be at least be a little more discreet. 

It was a little weird maybe, but it was nice to just talk to someone new without having to worry too much about what he was saying since after all, Phil was the one who had been looking for a fake significant other to present to his family at a Christmas dinner. There was no way he could top that kind of strange idea. But then again, Dan was the one who had answered positively to it so he probably was in no position to talk. In any case, he couldn’t deny that all of this was a lot more fun than what he had expected.

**

Dan checked the apartment number for what felt like the hundredth time before finally bringing himself to knock on Phil’s door. Somehow, it was already the 23rd and almost time for them to catch their train. Phil surprisingly didn’t live far from him at all so they had decided that Dan would get to his house and then they'd both go to take the train. So there he was. The door opened and Phil appeared behind it with a smile on his face.

"Hey! You made it," he said, stepping forward to hug him quickly, and making him chuckle a little. "Come in, I'll be ready in a minute, I just have to check a couple more things."

Dan nodded and followed him inside, his bag still in hand. He walked to the living room. Phil's flat was nice, he liked the way there were little trinkets everywhere on the shelves and multiple things on the wall that showed his interests. It truly felt like he had made the place his, and Dan was still a little struggling with that sometimes, so he could appreciate it.

"Hi again," Phil emerged from the hallway, bag on his shoulder. "Sorry for the wait, I'm usually more organized but I fell asleep earlier than expected last night."

Dan smiled. "No problem, I'm always leaving things to the last minute so I really can't blame you. Let's get going?"

"Yeah, absolutely. I have your ticket by the way."

Dan nodded and led the way outside, waiting for Phil to grab a coat and lock the door. It was freezing and they didn't talk much on the way to the train station, too busy shielding themselves from the biting air, and Dan was relieved when they finally stepped inside.

"Jesus, it's way too cold to be outside today," he complained with a grimace, rubbing his hands together to warm them up a little.

Phil laughed. "I know, we can just get a cab from the train station to my parents' house or my hands are going to fall off. We should be safe for now though. Come on," he added as he started walking away, presumably towards the platform where they needed to go.

Dan quickly caught up to him and they walked in silence, Dan's face mostly buried in his scarf. He was starting to get nervous, too. The end of November had gone by too fast, and before he realized it, it was time to meet the parents of his friend/fake boyfriend. He wasn't sure if that was a good idea anymore.

"Hey," Phil nudged him slightly when they arrived on the correct platform. "You okay? You've been quiet."

"Yeah. Is it weird that I'm nervous about this? I mean, it's stupid, but... I don't know."

Phil chuckled. "No, it's not weird at all. But it's going to be fine, I promise. They're not that terrible, just a little annoying sometimes. I won't let them bug you too much."

Dan looked up to him and smiled. "I'm counting on you for that, otherwise I'll just have to hide in the bathroom or something. Not sure they would appreciate very much."

Phil laughed again and soon the train was there and they were both sat in their assigned seats. The first part of the trip went fine, Phil just reminding him of a few details that he should probably try to remember if he could, and Dan answering nonsense when he knew the answer, just to annoy him.

“Come on,” Phil exclaimed at some point. “You know my brother’s name.”

Dan couldn’t help but laugh a little too loud. “Yeah, yeah, don’t worry. I’m just messing with you.”

Phil groaned and lightly hit him on the shoulder. “I hate you.”

Dan only laughed more at that and let his head fall back against his chair. 

“Sure you do.” 

He caught the older woman sat in front of him looking at them, and she smiled at him.

“You two make a lovely couple,” she said. “How long have you been together?”

Dan momentarily lost all ability to speak, but Phil was quicker to react.

“Four months,” he answered with a smile, discreetly kicking Dan’s leg under the table. “We’re just going to spend Christmas with my family, up north.”

“Oh, that’s nice! I’m sure you’ll have a great time. It’s important to spend time with your loved ones for the holidays,” she said before going back to the book she was reading.

Dan turned his head to find Phil looking at him with a smirk.

“Shut up,” he mumbled. “She caught me off guard, that’s all. It’s your fault, you hit me, which highly reduced my ability to react quickly.”

Phil just shook his head and chuckled quietly. “That’s bullshit, come on. Besides, that was an opportunity to test our story, now we know it works.”

“You’re just happy because you saved it,” Dan said, kicking his leg. “You’re the worst.”

Phil was the one to laugh a little too loud this time, and Dan smiled even if he was pretending to be mad.

“Of course I am.”

*

The train journey quickly came to an end, and they nearly had to run under the rain to catch a taxi. Dan was shivering slightly when the got inside, and he pushed the hair away from his face as Phil was giving the address.

“You know, I would almost take this shitty weather as a sign that this is all a bad idea,” he said when Phil sat back against his seat, making him chuckle a bit and bump his shoulder lightly.

“Come on, it’s going to be just fine. I’m telling you, it’d be a lot more fun if you pretended to be a spy on a highly important mission - which would be true, actually.”

“There’s nothing ‘highly important’ about this, Phil,” Dan laughed and shook his head. “You’re unbelievable. Just don’t let them kill me if they don’t like me, please.”

Phil smiled. “They’ll like you. And I promise to bring you back alive and in one piece. Feel better?”

“That’s very comforting, thank you very much,” he rolled his eyes with a smirk, only earning another bump on the shoulder. “Hey, don’t attack me! How rude of you. I’m taking it back, I don’t think I want to be your boyfriend anymore.”

He had said that without thinking, just to continue the joke, but he stopped for a second. He wasn’t sure if that was okay - they weren’t  _ really _ dating, of course, but in context that had felt appropriate. And that was probably the kind of stupid jokes he was bound to make a few times over these few days, so he’d rather know now if Phil wasn’t okay with it. But Phil just laughed and waved his hand in a defeated gesture, and Dan smiled triumphantly before turning to look out the window.

Yeah. Maybe it’d all be just fine.

*

The rain was still pouring when they eventually made it to the Lesters’ house, and they had to run the short distance separating them from the porch. Phil’s hair had been ruined by the rain and Dan couldn’t stop laughing, maybe more from the cold and his nerves than anything else. Phil raised an interrogative eyebrow and pushed his fringe to the side.

“You look like a hedgehog,” Dan hiccuped between two fits of laughter. “One that’s been stuck under the rain for two days.”

He saw the corners of Phil’s mouth twitch as if he was trying to hold back a smile, and that only made Dan’s hilarity get worse.

“Stop being mean or I’m leaving you in the cold,” he threatened. “We’ll see who looks like a lost hedgehog.”

Dan choked on his own breath with laughter and would have tripped and fallen backwards if Phil hadn’t been so quick to secure him by grabbing his elbow.

“Come on, don’t die on me yet, I still need you here,” he said with a smile, but Dan could’ve sworn he had caught a brief flash of worry in his eyes.

It took him a few seconds to catch his breath again, and his cheeks hurt from smiling that much.

“Sorry, sorry, I promise I’ll wait until we get back to consider dying.” He paused for a second a grimaced. “Too dark?”

Phil chuckled and squeezed his elbow a little. “Nah it’s fine, I’m getting used to it.” 

The door opened suddenly and a woman appeared behind it, a wide grin on her face.

“You’re here! I thought I heard people talking outside. Come in, you must be freezing.”

Phil smiled and stepped forward to hug her quickly. “Hey mum. That’s Dan,” he added as he took a step back.

Dan gave her a rather awkward smile and just had time to say “hi” before she pulled him into a quick hug.

“Dan, hi, I’m so glad to meet you,” she said when she let him go. “You can call me Kathryn. Please, come in.”

She went back inside and Phil followed, sending him a glance that said “told you so”. Dan lightly hit his arm but didn’t waste time before walking in after him. It really was too cold outside.

They both took off their coats and shoes while Kathryn said she was going to out on some tea to warm them up, and somehow the whole thing felt almost more natural than it would if he had gone back to his parents’. They went to the kitchen after that, where the water was already heating up and where Phil's dad joined them.

Nigel (Dan still felt weird for calling Phil's parents by their name, but they had insisted and he eventually just gave up) was really nice as well, of course, and he told them that Martyn and Cornelia had gone in town for a bit but that they shouldn’t be long, considering the bad weather. Dan was mostly glad he had remembered the names of Phil’s brother and his girlfriend, he wasn’t known to be the best when it came to remembering people’s names. They both arrived a little while later, once the rain had calmed down a little, just in time for dinner. 

Dan felt like everything would have been a lot more awkward and uncomfortable if it hadn’t been for Phil sitting next to him throughout the rest of the evening. It was reassuring, in a way, to know that he’d be there to have his back if he messed something up, and he could just laugh it off. Not that Phil’s family was anything but lovely and kind but, well, it still was quite a stressful situation. They had managed to avoid getting too many questions so far, Nigel and Kathryn probably wanting to let them breathe a little at first. Dan wasn’t complaining, far from it, he was appreciating the calm and coziness of the moment.

After dinner, they had all gone back to the living room to sit on the couch with tea or coffee - Dan hadn’t been able to resist a cup of hot chocolate when Kathryn had offered him, he hadn’t really had one since he was a kid. The TV was on, but nobody was really paying attention to it, too busy talking about different things. Including various embarrassing stories about Phil, of course. Dan was having way too much fun, and Phil was only adding to his hilarity by hiding in shame behind his shoulder a few times. Dan nearly choked on his drink at some point and leaned against Phil a little while he caught his breath.

“Alright, that’s enough of that,” Phil said. “Or neither of us is going to survive until we get back.”

Nigel and Kathryn laughed. It was starting to get late, Martyn and Cornelia had already excused themselves to go and sleep a while ago, their train had left early in the morning. 

“It's lovely to have you here Dan, but aren't your parents a bit upset that you're not spending the holiday with them? Sorry if I'm intruding, but it's an important thing in the family so I was just wondering,” Kathryn said.

Dan chuckled. “No, no problem. I'm not really close to my family actually, I’m sure they won’t miss me too much.”

“They’re probably just glad they won’t have to see you, to be honest,” Phil said, and Dan could hear a smile in his voice.

“Shut up,” he laughed as he turned around to face him and elbowed him slightly, the look in his eyes so gentle and kind it made him feel warm. “You’re stuck with me for the next two days, be nice.”

Phil just laughed and shook his head, and Dan turned around again when Nigel spoke up.

“Alright boys, I think that’s it for us as well, we’re going to head off for the night. We’ll see you tomorrow, goodnight,” he smiled.

They all said goodnight and Dan and Phil ended up being the only ones left, with only the faint sounds from the TV. Dan reluctantly started to scoot aside, now that they had the couch to themselves, but he heard Phil’s wordless and quiet complaint and looked up to see him pouting.

“Don’t leave meee you’re comfortable. And warm. I forgot how cold this damn house was.”

Dan laughed but leaned back against him without protesting too much. “Get a plaid or something, Jesus, I’m not a radiator.”

Phil chuckled. “A shame, you’d make a good one.” They went silent for a bit. “That wasn’t that terrible, was it?”

“Nah,” Dan smiled. “I survived. Your family’s lovely.”

Phil laughed again. “Wait until you’ve met the others to say that, you could regret it. Also you might want to be prepared for more questions tomorrow, sorry, especially if my mum asks for your help to get everything ready for the dinner. And she probably will.”

“I should manage, don’t worry.” He stifled a yawn. “And I think that’s the sign for me to go and sleep.”

“Go on, I'll come upstairs in a bit. I'll try not to wake you up.”

Dan rolled his eyes with a smile and got up, and walked to the stairs. Phil had warned him a while ago that they might have to share a room if it didn't bother him. Dan had just shrugged and said he didn't particularly mind. That was only for a couple of nights, and it wasn't as if it would be the first time he ended up sharing someone's room anyway.

It was funny, he thought as he walked upstairs, how easy it was to just  _ pretend _ . It reminded him of the years he spent in drama classes, in a way, except that he had no time to get out of the character for a bit. It was just a three days long play. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying it though, he couldn’t say otherwise. It was fun, and he trusted Phil to have his back if he said something wrong. That probably wouldn’t happen, though, and he was good enough at improvising that it didn’t worry him that much.

He quickly went to brush his teeth and change into his pajamas, and got into bed. He barely heard the door open again before falling asleep.

**

The next morning had been a little… agitated. As soon as they had gotten breakfast, they had both been asked to help to the preparations. Dan was on decorations duty with Kathryn while Phil was running errands with his dad to get the few things they were missing, and Martyn and Cornelia were finishing to prepare the rooms and making sure everything was ready. And Phil was right, Kathryn had been asking a lot more questions suddenly, and Dan was slowly learning that it was hard to focus on what he was saying while being on a ladder and trying to put up lights above the door. He had managed to stick to the story they had agreed on so far - they’d met on the internet around six months ago, and ended up together around a month after - but he was starting to get distracted by other things - like not falling of the ladder, for example - and he wasn’t fully concentrating on what he was saying, which might have resulted in being more honest than he had intended.

He was saved from yet another question by Martyn, who said Cornelia needed her help with something. He smiled at him when she left the room and held the ladder so he could get down.

“I feel like I came in at just the right time,” he said.

Dan smiled and jumped down the short distance that separated him from the ground. 

“You did, thanks. I mean, your mum's really nice and all but uh, that was starting to make… a lot of questions.”

Martyn laughed and nodded. “Yeah, she can get a bit much sometimes. I remember the first time she met Cornelia, she wouldn’t stop asking her about everything. It gets better after a while though, don’t worry. She’s just… the protective kind, I guess,” he added with a shrug.

“Yeah, I had noticed that. But, that’s good I guess. My mum isn’t exactly like that, so it just took me by surprise a little bit,” Dan smiled, almost apologetically.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Do your parents know that you and Phil are dating then, or…? Sorry, that’s probably rude to ask, you don’t have to answer.”

Dan just shrugged. “No, it’s fine. And I haven’t told them, they know I’m bi but that’s all.”

Martyn nodded and looked like he was about to change the subject when the front door opened, and Phil and Nigel waked in, both carrying heavy bags. 

“We're back,” Phil chanted. “And we could use some help bringing all this to the kitchen.”

Dan and Martyn laughed and went to help them with all the bags.

**

If Dan had thought he was ready for the Christmas party, he had been painfully wrong. The preparations had taken forever, and he had barely gotten time to get changed before everyone started to arrive.

He was feeling a little out of place amongst all these people, a lot more than when it was just them, Phil’s parents, and Martyn and Cornelia. Right now, he was starting to feel like the main attraction of the night, and he probably could’ve done without the attention. He spotted Phil making his way towards him from the other side of the room, carefully holding two glasses of champagne. Now, that was a brilliant idea. He gladly took the one Phil handed him when he arrived next to him before leaning against the wall like Dan had been for the past few moments.

“So, still thinking my family’s lovely?” Phil said quietly, despite the music and the sounds of conversations that would most likely cover what they were saying if they weren’t right next to each other.

“Yeah, I might’ve talked a little too soon,” Dan answered with a grin before taking a sip of his drink, and Phil laughed.

“See? I told you.”

Dan’s smile grew a little bigger and he shook his head. “No, really, I’m sure they’re all very nice and all, they just ask  _ a lot _ of questions, like come on.”

“I know, but to be fair, you can’t tell me I didn’t warn you. Also, there’s food, so that’s a good point, right?”

“Food and champagne,” Dan chuckled as he raised his glass a little. “Seems like you do really know the way to my heart, after all.”

Phil laughed and lightly elbowed him in the arm. “Shut up.”

They stayed in silence for a little while, just watching the others and enjoying the quiet while it lasted.

“By the way,” Phil spoke up eventually. “I don’t know if I told you, but I really am glad you’re here with me. Imagine the same situation, but with everyone constantly asking with I’m single and when I’ll finally get a partner. Just thinking about it is terrifying,” he added, pretending to shudder in fear.

“No problem,” Dan said, bringing up his hand to pat him on the shoulder. “I’m only being a nice boyfriend and keeping you from this hell.”

Phil burst out laughing at that, maybe a little too loud, loud enough that people seemed to suddenly realize they were there, and Dan couldn’t keep the grin off of his face even as he shushed him quickly. Man, maybe the alcohol was starting to get to him, after all.

“Oh, also,” Phil said. “I forgot to tell you, but if my aunt - over there, in the green dress - asks you to dance with her, don’t try to escape by saying you can’t dance. Any other excuse would work, but not this one. She’ll just tell you that everyone can dance and before you know it, you’ll be trapped. I know that from personal experience.”

Dan started laughing again. “Alright, that’s noted. Thank you for sharing your survival tips with me, I appreciate it.”

Phil smirked. “Just being a nice boyfriend and making sure you get out of here alive.”

Dan nearly spilled his drink on the floor from laughing too hard. “Hey, you can’t just steal my line like that, that’s not fair!”

“I absolutely can, and I just did,” Phil replied. “What are you going to do, sue me?”

Dan raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, I just might. If you think you can get away with it so easily, you know me badly.”

“I mean, I know you well enough to know you’re not willing to put that much effort into anything, so I really doubt I’m risking anything.”

Dan looked at him for a second before answering. “I just want you know that if I hadn’t been liking this champagne that much, I would have thrown it at you.”

Phil just laughed and shook his head. “Stop being mean, it’s time to open the presents.”

Dan rolled his eyes but followed him to the giant christmas tree where the others had already begun to exchange gifts. Which also mean they were all focused on something else than them, and that was frankly a relief. Dan sneaked past Phil’s uncle and a few of his cousins to get to the pile of presents. Everyone had put theirs under the tree when they had arrived, and while that was a lovely idea, Dan had some difficulties finding the one that he had brought for Phil. But he did eventually, and retreated to the couch, behind everyone else. He’d prefer not to remind them of his presence here. Phil joined him a few minutes later, after getting what his family had given him.

“Mum said she’s sorry she didn’t get you anything,” he said as he sat down next to him. “She said I told her too late that you’d be here and she didn’t have the time to get organized. Which is true, to be fair, sorry.”

Dan smiled. “No, it’s all fine. I wasn’t expecting anything, anyway. Here,” he added, giving him the wrapped up box he was holding.

Phil took it and gave him his present with a smile.

“You have to open mine first, you’re the guest. It’s the rule. My mum might just disown me if I don’t respect it.”

“You’re an idiot,” Dan laughed. “But alright.”

He took the package and quickly ripped off the wrapping paper, revealing what was underneath.

“Holy shit Phil,” he breathed, lifting up the frame a little.

There were four soundwaves that seemed made of copper, looking slightly darker or brighter depending on how they were reflecting the light. Dan couldn’t quite tell if the background was black or a really dark blue because of the poor luminosity, but the dark colour made an awesome contrast either way. He immediately loved it, it was just perfect and exactly fitting his aesthetic.

“That’s amazing,” he said.

Phil smiled and pointed at the bottom of the frame.

“Did you see what’s written there? These are the soundwaves for ‘Starlight’, by Muse. Thought you might like it.”

“Are you kidding?” Dan looked up at him. “This is the best thing I’ve seen like, ever. Thank you. But you have to open mine now.”

Phil chuckled and opened it, and Dan saw this stupidly wide grin bloom on his face as he got the ghibli boxset out of the wrapping paper and, okay, maybe he had drunk a little too much because he was feeling a little too warm suddenly.

“I love it! Thanks Dan,” Phil pulled him into a hug, making him chuckle in surprise.

His eyes looked dangerously sparkly when he pulled away just a few seconds after, but Dan only attributed it to the weird lighting and the changing lights from the fairy lights. That had to be the cause, right? And maybe it just was warmer than he had previously thought, because Phil’s cheeks were slightly tinted pink, so slightly he wasn’t sure if they really were or if it was just an effect of the lights. To be fair, they were both wearing sweaters. Dan turned his head to look at the rest of the room, and his eyes fell on the window.

“Hey, look,” he said quietly. “It’s snowing.”

They both stood up to get a better view of the snowflakes falling slowly, the light from the lamppost they were dancing in front of making it quite eerie, almost magical. Dan hadn’t seen snow on Christmas eve in years, especially since he lived in the South, and apparently Phil hadn’t either, considering he was looking outside in awe as if it was the best thing he had ever seen.

*

Soon enough, Dan was by himself again. Phil had been called in the kitchen to deal with the yule log and had let him to survive in the living room alone. What an ungrateful host, really. Someone stopped next to him and he nearly sighed in relief when he saw it was Cornelia.

“Thank god it's you,” he said. “I thought I would have to have another conversation with one of the five aunts here somewhere that I can't remember the name of.”

Cornelia smiled. “It is a lot, huh? They'll get used to you, don't worry. And soon you won't be the newest thing happening to this family anymore.”

“Not soon enough,” Dan grumbled, making her laugh.

“How are you doing? I know all the questions can get too much sometimes.”

“I'm good,” he shrugged. “Phil abandoned me but it's for cake, so I forgive him. Except if he has eaten all of it, which I wouldn't put past him, then we'd have a problem,” he smiled.

Cornelia smiled as well and looked like she was about to say something, but changed her mind. They didn't talk for a few moments.

“You know,” she said eventually. “I was curious at first, when Phil told us you'd be there. I mean, he had never mentioned you before or anything, so it was a bit of a surprise to everyone. And, I don't know. I guess it seemed quite convenient that you would suddenly appear for the Christmas dinner, especially when Phil's been complaining that everyone kept bugging him because he was single. But I guess I was wrong,” she shrugged. “You really love him, don't you?” she added after a few seconds.

“Yeah, I do,” he said without thinking.

The realization crept up on him slowly, making the hairs of his arms stand up and his cheeks heat up and suddenly he was feeling a lot more warm. He needed air. He excused himself and quickly slipped past everyone to get to the door, and got out. The cold hit him in the face, snowflakes catching in his eyelashes and blurring his sight, feeling like a hundred burning needles against his skin.

Fuck, fuck,  _ fuck. _ Oh  _ fuck, _ he was screwed.

He wasn't lying, he hadn't even  _ thought _ of lying to protect their cover, he hadn't had time to think about what she had asked, and had just instinctively said the truth.

But it couldn't be, right? It couldn't be the truth. Surely, that last glass of champagne had been the one he shouldn't have had, and that was the only thing that would explain the heat in his cheeks and the buzzing in his head, and maybe he had just said yes because he was well in character and he knew what he was supposed to say. That had to be it, right? 

But he knew that wasn't right. He could feel it - hear it, even - how the words were still ringing true to him, and he couldn’t deny it. He was so screwed.

He hadn’t heard the door opening, but he didn’t miss the wave of warmth and sounds of discussions that escaped from the inside before the door was closed again, and then the footsteps in the thin layer of snow that was starting to form on the ground.

“Hey,” Phil said. “Cornelia told me you were outside. Everything’s okay?”

Dan looked up at him and the genuine look of concern on his face made bubbles fill up his ribcage, and he hated how much he was aware of them.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I just needed to get some air,” he said, smiling a little.

“Can’t blame you for that,” Phil chuckled. “But you’re going to end up getting pneumonia or something if you stay here. And you’ll miss the cake, that would be a shame.”

“What, do you mean you haven’t eaten all of it already?”

“Daaan come on!”

Dan laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Let’s go get this cake. I’m starting to feel cold,” he admitted.

“You  _ look _ cold” Phil chuckled and wrapped his arm around Dan’s shoulders, setting off these damn bubbles again as they started walking towards the house. “Let’s get you back inside before you turn into an ice statue. D’you want me to go get you a hot drink?”

“No, I’m good, thanks,” he smiled. “Wait, you’ve got snow all over your hair,” he pointed out.

Phil grinned and shook his head, projecting half-melted snowflakes in Dan’s face, who was laughing too hard to successfully protest.

“You’re covered in it too, hold on,” Phil said, bringing up his hand to lightly brush the snow off of Dan’s hair, and Dan was desperately trying to focus on something else, anything but how gentle Phil was. “There you go, now you won’t put water everywhere in the house,” Phil smiled once he was done, before opening the door.

Dan stepped inside, not quite able to tell if the wave of warmth he was hit with came from the house or if the real responsible for it was Phil, who walked in behind him.

*

It was fair to say Dan hadn’t been paying much attention to anything throughout the rest of the evening. He had said he was getting tired, but in reality he just couldn’t believe himself. Honestly, falling for the guy he was in a fake relationship with for just three days? That was the stupidest thing he could have done. He probably should’ve expected it, he thought as he looked over to Phil who was laughing with Martyn a few feet away, his eyes crinkling in that way Dan had been so desperately trying not to notice. He should’ve expected it, really, but for some reason, until this moment he hadn’t realized -or hadn’t wanted to realize- that Phil was everything.

It didn’t take too long after that before the guests left, and the ones who were staying the night had all gone to bed. It was starting to get quite late, and everybody was exhausted. Dan was sat on the sofa after helping to clean and put everything away, just looking out the window at the snow slowly falling down, when Phil let himself fall on the couch next to him and put his head on his shoulder.

Dan chuckled quietly. “Hey, you’ve got glitter all over your face, don’t put it on me. How did you even manage that?”

Phil groaned. “Shhh, I’m tired.”

“Well go to bed, then, what are you waiting for?”

“Too many steps.”

Dan couldn’t help but smile. “Alright, get up. You look like you’re about to fall asleep on me, and I’m not carrying you up the stairs.”

Phil reluctantly let Dan stand up and took the hand he was offering him.

"You're mean," he complained. "That's too much effort."

Dan just shook his head and pulled him forward towards the stairs. "Come on, you'll thank me tomorrow for not letting you sleep on that shitty couch and messing up your neck, you'll see."

Phil didn't add anything and Dan helped him get upstairs, letting go of his hand when they got in front of the room.

"You get changed, I'll go get you something to wipe off all that glitter before you get blind because of it."

"Okay. Thanks."

Dan nodded and walked to the bathroom, coming back a few minutes later with makeup wipes. They should be fine. He knocked on the door and walked in when he heard Phil saying he could. He was sat on the bed, absentmindedly rubbing his cheek where all the glitter was. He sat down next to him.

"You're going to get some in your eyes, come on. Let me do it?" he suggested.

Phil nodded and Dan brought his hand up to start gently wiping off all the golden glitter. Honestly, his whole face was shimmering, Dan had no idea how it was even possible to get that much glitter everywhere. He was desperately trying to just focus on what he was doing, and not how the gold brought out the golden sparks in his eyes, that were way too close to his face. The silence was so heavy, everyone else was asleep, and no matter how hard he tried to think of something to say, he couldn't think of anything to break this strange atmosphere of unsaid words seemingly floating in the air. He stood up again as soon as most of the glitter was gone. 

"Okay, there you go. You can go to sleep, I'll come back in a minute."

"Thank you," Phil smiled before yawning. "And goodnight."

"Goodnight," Dan said back as he left the room again.

He tossed the wipes in the bathroom bin and put the others back in their place, and rested his head in his hand for a bit. He just hoped he'd be able to sleep soon so his head could stop buzzing with a thousand thoughts all at once.

*

Dan couldn't sleep.

It was probably nearing 3 am now, and he hadn’t been able to close his eyes for more than a minute. His brain just wouldn’t stop racing. This situation was so stupid, and he was mad at himself for managing to get himself into this mess. This whole thing was just supposed to be a fun way to spend the holidays, but somewhere along the way he had found a friend and caught feelings for said friend. And he could deal with just being Phil’s friend, really, but what if Phil didn’t even want that anymore? It was all almost over now, and Dan didn’t know if he was relieved or disappointed. A little bit of both, maybe.

He sighed and got out of the bed. Phil next to him might be the sleepy kind of drunk, but Dan really wasn’t. Not that either of them had drunk enough to be anything more than tipsy, but still.

He left the room and went downstairs, careful to be quiet so he didn’t wake anyone up, and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water, in hopes that it could help his mind to calm down a little. He was cold though, so he didn’t stay there too long before going back upstairs. He pushed open the door, and noticed they had forgotten to close the blinds of the window earlier, but he couldn’t be bothered to go over there and close them. It had stopped snowing. He saw Phil lift up his head, and maybe he was less of a heavy sleeper than he thought.

“Dan?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Just went to get water. Go back to sleep,” Dan said as he closed the door and walked to the bed.

“Too late,” Phil sat up. “I’m awake now. What time is it?”

“I dunno, probably like 3 am,” Dan answered.

He got under the covers and shivered violently. Shit, he was probably coming down with something, he shouldn’t have stayed outside for so long. He was freezing.

“You okay?” Phil asked. “You look cold.”

“I”m more than cold,” Dan mumbled with another shiver. “I feel like I’ve been lying under twenty centimeters of snow for three hours.”

Phil chuckled a little. “Come over here. I told you you were going to end up with pneumonia.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you look like you’re about to freeze to death, come on,” Phil smiled, opening his arms.

And maybe Dan was a little more tipsy that he thought, because he knew that was a bad idea, but he scooted closer anyway and ended up with his head on Phil’s chest, and Phil’s arm around his shoulder. He had to admit that it was nice, though. Maybe he could just pretend that everything was fine for a while longer.

“Thanks,” he said, and Phil only hummed in response.

They stayed like that for a while, before Dan decided to speak up. He was feeling less cold and tense already, and it was quite comfortable.

“Hey, Phil? What do you want to do, after all this is over?”

“What do you mean?”

If Dan wasn’t made sleepy by alcohol, he had forgotten how it could make him talk and talk, a lot more more freely than he usually would.

“I mean, well, do you still want us to talk and stuff? Like- I’d understand if not, because this was a pretty weird situation and all, but also I mean I kinda really like you and I’d miss you, so-”

He was cut off by Phil’s soft laugh, that sounded surprised and strangely deeper than his normal voice, probably because Dan’s head was just against his chest.  Phil brought his hand up to brush away one of Dan’s curls.

“I’m not going anywhere, Dan. Of course I still want to talk to you,” he said. “You should get some sleep now, though. It’s late.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He yawned. “G’night.”

“Night.”

Dan finally started slowly dozing off, and he was already half asleep when he heard Phil speak again.

“And, by the way. I kinda really like you too.”

*

Dan woke up, still in Phil’s arms, his head nestled in his neck, and hair tickling his cheek. He stirred a little and cracked an eye open, only to be blinded by the sunlight coming in the room from the window. Damn curtains he had forgotten to draw. He groaned and buried his face in Phil’s neck again, and he heard him chuckle.

“Good morning,” he murmured. “I would’ve closed the curtains, but I didn’t want to wake you up.”

Dan smiled. “I’d say ‘thanks’ but honestly I’m not sure which option would’ve been the worst one.”

“Come on, we both know you wouldn’t have stopped complaining if I had woken you up,” Phil said, sounding amused.

Dan laughed a little. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

He tried to open his eyes again, gradually adjusting to the light. It wasn’t that bad. He could hear faint sounds coming from downstairs, but he didn’t want to get up, not just yet. Their train back wasn’t until late in the afternoon anyway, they had plenty of time before having to leave.

“So,” Phil said after a little while. “Strange situation, huh?” Dan stifled a chuckle at that, he couldn’t really argue. “What does that make us then?”

“Two idiots?” Dan suggested, making Phil laugh. “No, seriously, I guess it depends. What do you want?”

Dan knew what  _ he _ wanted, but he just wanted to make sure that Phil was thinking the same thing. He still couldn’t really believe any of this was happening. Phil seemed to think about what to say for a few seconds.

“I think I quite like being your boyfriend,” he said eventually. “The question is whether you do too, or not.”

Dan smiled. “Yeah, I do. I mean, if that wasn’t obvious enough already.”

Phil laughed and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “We should get going, it's getting late and we still have to pack our stuff.”

Dan propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at Phil. In the daylight, he could see the glitter he had missed the night before, and that made his face shimmer, so slightly that it was hard to really catch it. He leaned in and pecked his cheek.

“Thank you again for the music waves frame, by the way. I really do love it.”

Phil smiled. “I hoped you would, that seemed like something you might like.”

Dan giggled. “Of course I do.”

They kept silent for a little while longer before Dan finally decided to roll out of bed and go downstairs to have breakfast, Phil following him.

The morning was already well advanced and the rest of the it went by in what seemed like only a few minutes. Dan was going to miss this, he realized as he helped to clear the table after lunch. He was going to miss Cornelia teasing him about different things, and Martyn grimacing sympathetically from behind his parents’ back after they asked too many questions once again. He didn’t even mind them that much by now, and they were closer to jokes than genuine questions, which was nice. And also, he had tons of blackmail material on Phil, thanks to them, and that was always appreciated. When he told him, Phil had laughed and promised he’d find a way to retaliate if he ever tried to use it. 

It felt like home. And maybe it was just the holiday spirit, or the lasting effect of champagne, or the fact that Phil’s presence was enough to turn a potentially awkward and boring experience in a funny and lovely time, but it really had been a nice couple of days, and probably a lot better than he could’ve hoped for.

Soon enough, Phil and him had both packed their bags and were ready to go catch their train. The snow had all melted off during the night, sadly, but at least the sun was still shining bright, even though it would start to get dark pretty quickly. They hugged everyone and said their goodbyes, and Kathryn made him promise to come back to see them soon, and before Dan knew it, they were in the taxi taking them to the train station. The ride was calm and quiet, and Phil slipped his hand in Dan’s as he talked with the driver. Dan looked out the window to hide the smile on his lips.

They finally made it to the station, just in time to catch their train. There was no-one in front of them, this time, and Dan put his head on Phil’s shoulder.

“Tired already?” Phil chuckled.

“Mhm. It's been a long weekend. And I think I'm coming down with something.”

“Aw, poor you,” Phil said, putting his arms around his shoulders. “You'll have time to get better before the holidays end, get some rest, alright?” 

Dan nodded. He really was exhausted, he could feel his eyelids getting too heavy.

“How long do we have left?” he asked in a yawn.

“About three hours,” Phil answered after checking the time. “You can sleep for a while, I'll wake you up a little bit before we get there. And you can always crash at my place, if you want? It'll be quite late by the time we get there, and no offense but I'm not sure you'll make it to your flat without problem. Plus, at least I could call someone if you need to. I can just take you home tomorrow.”

Dan smirked. “Y’know, you didn't have to list all your arguments like that, I was on board when you offered me the possibility to sleep sooner.”

Phil laughed quietly. “You’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, I am,” Dan said. “But that’s why you like me.”

“Part of why, maybe.” He pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “You should sleep now. I’ll wake you up in a few hours.”

Dan just hummed in agreement, letting his eyelids fall close and his vision turn to black. He could hear Phil’s steady breathing and the regular sounds of the train, that slowly lulled him to sleep. Yes, he thought before losing the battle with consciousness, right now, Phil was everything.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I know it's still a bit early and I intended to post in a few days but I won't be able to, so there we are! I hope you liked it, feel free to leave a comment or come talk to me on tumblr @snowydanrises ^^


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